Category Archives: Dianne Dean

Crime and Ghosts: Dianne Dean reviews ‘What the Dead Said’ by D.J. Daniels

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What the Dead Said by D.J. Daniels. Dragonfall Press 2012

dead-said-cover-593x700I got this book to review on a Thursday and promised myself I would start reading on the weekend but before the day was over I found myself leaning over the back of the couch with the first chapter open in my hands. What attracted me was the book’s interesting premise – everyone in the world can now see ghosts, except Sckel, and he is employed to solve cases that involve the ghosts he cannot see or hear. Oh, also the fact that the action is set in a future Sydney – got to love it when an author successfully gives an Australian feel to a story.

D.J. Daniels brings good humour to this novel with many deft modern day references that adds depth to the plot as parallel circumstances echo off each other. (Should I worry that I understood them all?)

It seems inconvenient for a detective to be unable to see the very ghosts he needs to investigate, relying on the reports “What the Dead Said” – the recording of a ghost’s testimony by vampires. But on the other hand,  this same lack often enables Sckel to be objective in his investigations and unaffected by the sight of apparitions that, let’s face it, have sometimes let themselves go after death.  Dying of fright was a common occurrence in the early days of the ghosts becoming visible until the living population became inured, if not entirely comfortable, with the daily horrors they observed.

And it soon becomes obvious that ghosts are, well, just people – albeit dead ones. Just as the living, they have their own agendas and are just as capable of attempting to manipulate events to achieve their goals. In a series of cases, Sckel begins to uncover a plot to open the gateway between the living and the dead even further to give the ghosts more access to our world.

So, what else do we have?

An eccentric but very very rich inventor that provides useful gadgets and assistance but you are not always entirely sure whose side he is on.

A sidekick detective that is quite willing to be distracted by a pretty face and a gut feeling.

A medium who could see ghosts before other people could and now made a living renting her body out for possession.

A robot (well, he hasn’t decided if he is a robot or something else yet) that has decided to help Sckel out.

And these characters are just a part of promising cast of strangeness that underpins the adventures of our Sckel.

D. J. Daniels has a nice conversational style to her writing that does much to support the telling of this story. This is a good read but I also found it frustrating. Sometimes felt as if not enough was done with the characters and the situations presented to us. I wanted to know more about Sckel and why he was chosen to work for an organisation that not only required skills he doesn’t seem to possess but also why he accepted as it seems a place he doesn’t entirely want to be. And sometimes the narrative seemed disjointed – things happen that don’t seem to quite make sense or have little contribution to the plot. Ghosts apparently influence people but it seemed the only people that were influenced were those that wanted to be in the first place (Which is a pretty human thing in the first place).

But please don’t think I am condemning this novel or its author. The humour and the ideas encapsulated are worth the read.

And I will definitely be looking out for more work by D. J. Daniels.

- Dianne Dean

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Dianne Dean is based in North East Victoria. Her first children’s book is currently with a publisher and will be released in early 2013. She can be found at www.austwriters.com

What the Dead Said is available from http://www.dragonfallpress.com/product/what-the-dead-said

A Fraught-Filled Game: Dianne Dean reviews ‘The Dragon and the Crow’ by T. B. McKenzie.

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The Dragon and the Crow by T. B. McKenzie. Dragonfall Press, 2011

You live in a world where everyone has a particular skill – how would you hide that you do not? How would you feel?

Young Brin of T.B. McKenzie’s The Dragon and the Crow is still a boy, he hasn’t as yet earned the name of his father. Every day is filled with pain, anger, jealousy and frustration as his peers learn how to harness the ‘magick’ they are doled out each day. He, on the other hand, must find ever inventive ways of disguising his own lack of magick. Convinced that he would receive full measure on the day he was to be named, Brin plays a fraught-filled game that has him constantly on the edge of being discovered.

In fact, at times it was hard to believe that no-one had discovered his secret as those around him perform acts of magick to heal, mend, communicate and a score of other things that assist their daily lives. But then I was given to wonder that in a world where everyone is expected to have the skill then any observed lapses would be easily reasoned away – particularly for a young child still learning the rudiments of spell-casting.

And yet that there would be one without magick was prophesised – a child that would ‘right an ancient crime’.

So our Brin gets drawn into a power struggle, one in which he feels very much to be the cat’s paw, powerless to determine his own destiny and unsure as to who to trust.

McKenzie begins the first book of his series, Magickless, with one of his more twisted characters, The Hen – a nameless man in which Brin eventually finds many reflections of himself.  Each event within the story unfolds more of the world and more of players. Simple motives become more complex as the plot thickens with more tangles. This approach by the author lends a reality to his story telling with his King and his Witch becoming multi-dimensional – I am still not totally certain as to who will end being the ‘good’ and who the ‘bad in this series – and not even sure that that designation will be totally appropriate to the side that wins out. You will need to make your own decision.

You will be drawn deeply into Arkadia as you try to determine where the twists will lead you. And there are some nice subplots that develop some interesting characters to add depth to an already masterfully woven novel.

McKenzie also scores well on his development of a language of spells, something that isn’t as easy as it, no pun intended, sounds. He says on his own blog that he was looking for something that would not sound like latin and had a runic feel to it. What he has made has a distinctly musical sound.  In his words:  “Solresol can be sung. What better way to cast a magick spell?”

The novel centres around the restrictions of expectation. Sons are expected to follow their father’s professions. The names they take as adults are expected to be those of their fathers. Brin’s father expects him to be a Mender – an expectation that binds Brin tightly, even leavened with love as it is. It is wish to fulfill this expectation that motivates Brin throughout the novel until he begins to reluctantly grow away from it. Most will live within their restrictions, happily even, but for others the frustration is too much.

McKenzie is also asking us to consider whether or not the ends justifies the means. Once there was a trend within fantasy novels that the good are unblemished and the evil are stained black. The characters of The Dragon and The Crow do not stand on each end of the spectrum.

Those that are painted as good at the beginning of the story are soon found to have committed acts that can only be defined as evil to achieve their ends – but are they evil?

Those that stand as enemies of the land also seem to have reason and compassion in their hearts – so are they evil or not?

Even Brin finds himself doing things that he finds distasteful and even repugnant in the attempt to reach an end that will satisfy the expectations of his family and his community.

… and at the novel’s end we are still left to wonder who Brin should trust.

Perhaps he should trust himself.

Literally.

- Dianne Dean

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Dianne Dean is based in North East Victoria. Her first children’s book is currently with a publisher and will be released in early 2013. She can be found at www.austwriters.com

Dragonfall Press can be found at http://www.dragonfallpress.com/

Beautiful strands of emotion: Dianne Dean reviews ‘The Child of Hope’ by Gary Stowe

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The Child of Hope by Gary Stowe. Dragonfall Press. 2011

Stand in front of one of the Masters’ paintings, perhaps even ‘Nightwatch’ by Rembrandt, and you will soon appreciate the detail in the work. Each brushstroke has created the story for you to see – not only of the central characters but the world that moves and breathes on the canvas around them.

Gary Stowe has brought this same skill to his debut novel, painting with his words the characters and world of The Child of Hope, the first of ‘The Masteries’.  Each sentence deftly brings to life the experiences of Alain, an unwanted son, as he searches for his kidnapped sister, Annelisse, the one believed to be at the centre of the Child of Hope prophesy.  Alain feels a responsibility to find his sister. After all, he is the twin that isn’t wanted whilst the hopes of his kingdom lay with the missing Annelisse.  Above all, this book is about this young man’s search, even if what he finds is not what he expects.

But there is more than that.

Stowe tells his story through his people and their experiences and emotions, with each moment polished into clarity in fine detail.  The voice of the book switches seamlessly between the participants giving depth to the narrative. Nor do the main actors always hold the centre stage. Supporting roles regularly cross the boards, briefly bringing us a view from a new perspective.

The language he uses is modern and uncluttered, making the translation of a different world into our own a simple process. Lacking the chunks of laborious paragraphs sometimes dedicated in other books to the creation of a new world, Stowe has allowed the reader to weave their own impressions of this world into the plot. I found this allowed the story-telling to shine more strongly as I wasn’t subjected to long-winded explanations about the physicality of a place. I think ‘somewhere North of here’ gets about as complicated as directions ever get. (Yes, before you argue with me, this sort of detail works in some novels but so often it can become like reading the directions produced by Google Maps).

This book has a delightfully bad man in the form of Malkarian, a Master of Earth and Air. I enjoyed disliking him and you will too.  He has no qualms about achieving his ambitions, no matter who or what is in his way.

And if we mention Makkarian, we should also introduce Ranhald and Merredith, King and Queen, parents of the twins. They have each had the burden of losing a child and each have dealt with it differently. One turns inward and the other outward. One you want to shake and the other you want to cheer on.

Holding with the overall simplicity of story-telling in this book, Stowe has limited the palette of characters to a manageable number. No long list of names and descriptions are required to help you keep them all under control. As a result you get to know Stowe’s people more closely, their personalities and motivations, and a stronger connection is built.

Stowe has woven in beautiful strands of emotion, shining and dark, that tie characters together. No one is perfect and each has a personal struggle to endure. Relationships are natural and coloured with the complexities of real life, sometimes a difficult achievement when the world is built on fantasy.

There are twists in the plot and unexpected events – and when these happen they are often quite satisfying. If there is any criticism it is that the treatment of the prophecy is a little cute in its implementation. Yet, without it, the premise of the book does not hang together and sometimes these contrivances are required to bring a story to life. And, honestly, how often are the decisions in our lives based on misunderstanding and misinterpretation.

It is nice knowing that this is just the first book in the series. It is even better to find a unique voice amongst the shelves of modern fantasy. There are hints to what direction Gary Stowe may take the next book but, based on The Child of Hope don’t expect it to arrive where you think it will.

Just remember, just because everyone thinks something is correct, it does not mean that it will turn out that way.

Just ask the Librarian.

- Dianne Dean

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Dianne Dean is based in North East Victoria. Her first children’s book is currently with a publisher and will be released in early 2013.

Dragonfall Press can be found at http://www.dragonfallpress.com/